“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein.
If you have ever opened up any kind of account with a financial institution, you will be asked to name a beneficiary. The beneficiary will be the person who will receive the account, if you pass away. If you are married, you will likely choose your spouse to be the beneficiary of that account. If
Being married means starting a life together. For most people, that means owning property together in furtherance of building a home and a family. That real estate can be held in a variety of ways based on how the deed to the real estate is conveyed to the married couple. In Illinois, property can be
Divorce is a big step. Many couples will separate with the explicit option that they may, in fact, get back together. A non-permanent separation is called a trial separation. Some therapists will recommend trial separation in order to allow each member of the marriage think clearly about the future of the relationship. Trial separations, by
When considering a divorce, people move money around or even hide assets. Real estate cannot be hidden or moved, however, because you know the address. Can real estate be sold by one spouse without the permission of the other spouse? Property in Illinois can only be transferred if the transfer is by written contract or
In America, the ability to own a home is part of the American Dream. In furtherance of this, there are numerous laws which encourage home ownership such as the mortgage interest deduction and the concept of the homestead exemption. What Is A Homestead in Illinois? A homestead is a building or collection of buildings where
Divorce is rarely a surprise. A person anticipating divorce will contemplate how their net worth will likely be reduced by half at the end of the divorce process. This potential loss of assets via divorce may induce a spouse to start transferring money and assets to third parties before the divorce is finalized. In theory,
While adultery and betrayal can be central to any divorce, there seems to be no greater betrayal than financial betrayal. Illinois, while being a no-fault state for divorce, does recognize financial betrayal and takes strict accounting of extreme financial malfeasance on the part of either spouse. This accounting of marital money spent on girlfriends, boyfriends,
Diversification is the investment strategy whereby holding a variety of assets creates a greater long-term return because the variety reduces risk. In addition to thousands of tradable stocks and bonds, the average investor may also own real estate. The advantage of owning real estate as an investment is that you can borrow to buy the
There is probably no more byzantine and complex process in an Illinois divorce than valuing and dividing a business. The business-operating spouse will always want to keep the business while claiming the business is worthless. The spouse who doesn’t operate the business will want a grandiose share of the business’s value…without really knowing what that
The term “stock options” has a certain mystique. Stock options seem like a sophisticated financial instrument for the rich and about-to-be-rich…and they kind of are. The problem with sophisticated financial instruments like stock options, is that they are hard to divide in an Illinois divorce. So, how do you divide stock options in an Illinois